A Funny Baseball Story

Back in 1987 I was in Boston for a few days to attend a graduation ceremony for a cousin of mine. I was staying in a hotel in downtown Boston and I was really enjoying my visit. Boston is a great town if you ever get the chance to go. It was about dinner time and I was waiting for some family members that would meet me down in the hotel lobby. As I waited, I walked around checking out some of the gift shops and looking at the brochures of things to do while in the Boston area. I was just minding my own business keeping to myself.

Suddenly, this overbearing Red Sox fan approaches me and starts talking to me about how much The Red Sox and The Cubs had in common at that time. He was drawn to me I guess, because I was wearing my Cubs hat. This man was very loud, very opinionated and I was taken aback somewhat at his uninvited and very animated dialogue. He kept making statements and then he would ask me questions never really wanting an answer. It seemed as if he was killing time like I was and that he just wanted to yap it up with someone. He explained to me in an obnoxious way about how both teams had a long baseball history and that it had been decades since either team won a World Series, and how both teams have had many of the same players. He even had the audacity to mention that some of the players that have played with the Cubs prior to playing in Boston dragged some sort of curse along with them. I believe that he called it the 'Cub Factor'. 

I have to give the fellow some credit though, he was very knowledgeable about the history of both teams and their many attempts to win but always falling short. He was definitely a big fan of the game and especially a huge fan of The Boston Red Sox. It was almost to a point where it was like a huge fault of this man to carry the burdens of his beloved team around on his sleeve like he did. He seemed to think that because I had a Cubs hat on that I automatically had my share of similar burdens too. I'm not sure that I have ever taken the Cubs that seriously though. I love baseball and the Cubs, but I don't take it to that level of fanaticism.

I realized that indeed he was just trying to pass a little time because this guy's wife walked out of a gift shop and announced to her husband that she was ready to go. I have to say that I was filled with relief. This guy had been irritating me for about five minutes and I was done with him. I thought that he was going to walk away with his wife but he instead asked me, "So, what brings a Chicago Cub like you, to a city like Boston."

He had been asking for it, and he opened the door wide open. I couldn't resist, I smiled real big and looked him in the eye and said, "I'm here because I'm the President of the Bill Buckner fan club!" I thought that he was going to hit me. His face turned red and now he was agitated. I followed that up by asking him if he was aware that Bill Buckner actually tried to commit suicide after that infamous botched play at first base in the '86 World Series. I had his attention because he had never heard of this before. I told him that Bill Buckner was in the Red Sox clubhouse and he just couldn't be consoled. His teammates tried to reassure him that everything was going to be fine, but Buckner couldn't accept what the other players were trying to tell him. Buckner was so distraught that he ran through the clubhouse doors out into an adjacent city street. He saw that a metrobus was coming and Buckner threw himself into the buses path.

The Red Sox fan took the bait and asked me, "So what happened?"  I explained that Buckner stood there waiting for the bus to hit him... but the bus went through his legs instead.